Saturday, October 20, 2007

Update: Arrena

Let me just say, right up front, I don't have any new pictures. We've taken some new pictures, but I haven't downloaded any. This post is really just a chance for me to pontificate about my girl. It's as much for me as it is for all of you (o.k., BOTH of you) readers.

Arrena

She's two years old and two months (I refuse to say it all in months, that's just obnoxious and who can do that math?). She's a whopping 3'2" tall (way over 100 percentile) but a scant 31 lbs (maybe 75 percentile). Her feet are, sadly, huge - toddler size 8 (eek!). Yes, I know Robert is tall, and yes I know that I'm not short, but it's still shocking to see your darling child grow to the heights of the Empire State Building. We promise to teach her not to swat at airplanes.

I know that every parent thinks their child is brilliant. Maybe at this age, they all ARE brilliant. I'm no different - Arrena constantly amazes me. Of course, she'll then do something so goofy that I wonder if she thinks at all. I guess that's all children, too. :-) So here we go, my list of things the Amazing Arrena can do. Prepare to be AMAZED!

She can count to 30. sometimes 14 & 15, 26 & 27 don't fare so well, but she knows what she's doing.
She can say her alphabet.
She knows her letters and will "read" them to you.
She knows her colors: red, blue, yellow, green, purple, black, orange, and white.
She loves to dance and follows choreography very well.
She loves to color and will make 20 new drawings a day while standing at her easel. She calls them her "pretties"
She can sing a lot of songs and has a lovely, though uncontrolled, falsetto.
Reading is still a favorite pasttime.
She will spend 30mins easy at her computer, following instructions to peck out letters.
She can be fiercely independent
She will pick out her own shoes, and sometimes the whole outfit.
She is bossy - OMG is she bossy!
She understands the basics of red lights (stop, Mommy!) and green lights (go, Mommy, go!).
Still likes vegetables and fruit more than meat.
Will Always be happy for yogurt!
Loves taking baths, but hates getting her hair done.
Can jump, run, and generally moves with grace and assuredness.

I'm sure there is more (I decided the leave out "splitting the atom", I don't want to seem like I'm bragging). It all seems so straight forward, but then I remember that she's only two. Somewhere in there, she's downloaded the knowledge and memory of a 60 yr old. She just seems to know so much. And she takes it all in. Nothing fazes her. We dropped her off at her Poppa's house for a week, despite her having seen him only a few times in her life (granted, she sees him all the time in her picture book). Not only did she adapt immediately to the new situation, but she was totally unconcerned about when or if we'd be coming back. When it comes to new situations, she can be fearless. For her first ballet class, she walked right in unaccompanied and started stretching with the other girls.

I hope she never loses that. I hope she'll always be the kind of kid who sees her mommy acting crazy, whether it's making faces or dancing around the living room, and decides to join right in. I hope she always loves books and football (in that order). I hope she will always freely give hugs and kisses. I hope, I hope, I hope.

Does it ever end? The things you hope for your child? The fears you have for them? I spend my days with equal amounts of joy and terror. Every day. The sheer number of horrific things in the world can sometimes overwhelm me. But then, my little girl looks at me, puts her hand in mine, and says "I love you, Mommy" or sings our silly "Mommy loves Arrena, yes, I do" song, and I know that I just have to concentrate on the blessings of the days for as long as we have them.

I hear all these feelings and fears finally go away..........when they're about 80 yrs old. I have a way to go, yet.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

O.K., did you cry when you wrote that? Because I cried when I read it. I'm probably completely biased because she's my only niece, but I think she's AMAZING! And I'm so glad to be her Auntie; I almost melted the first time she said "Auntie Allyson". My next thought was "whatever she wants, the answer is yes!". She's going to be so spoiled ...

October 25, 2007 8:24 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home